May 7 (Reuters) - Manulife Financial ( MFC ) posted a

3% jump in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by the

strong performance of its insurance business in Asia and overall

growth in its global wealth and asset management business.

Manulife has been expanding its investment advisory and

retirement planning services to tap into the rising demand for

long-term financial management.

The firm's push in Asian markets to capture the

financial needs of a growing, under-insured middle class has

helped its earnings in recent quarters.

Core earnings from Asia rose 7% to C$492 million, while

global wealth and asset management reported a 24% jump to C$454

million in the quarter.

However, its U.S. unit saw a 25% drop in core earnings

to C$251 million in the quarter due partly to tariff-induced

uncertainty in financial markets and more money set aside to

cover potential loan losses.

The company's core earnings jumped to C$1.77 billion ($1.28

billion), or 99 Canadian cents per share, in the three months

ended March 31. Analysts had expected a profit of 99 Canadian

cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

($1 = 1.3838 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by

Anil D'Silva)